


Tough Guy & Tiny Girl

by Havendance



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: 5 times 1 time, Clothes Sharing, F/M, Gifts, Ice Cream, Ivan hates the cold, Kim won't stop daring people, Kitty Section, Kwami Swap, Movie Night, Music, Mylene's a Jagged Stone Fan even in the afterlife, Myvan, Myvan May, OCs - Freeform, Picnics, Song writing, Soulmate AU, Storms, Turtle!Ivan, Vampire AU, bug hunting as little kids, butterfly!mylene, christmas cheer, dubiously legal camping, ghost au, horror movies, jagged stone (mentioned), kim being an idiot, mermaid!au, middle ages AU, mylene is not up for it, nervous Ivan, post-horrificator scene, some adorable night time courtship if I do say so myself, some unavoidable angst, suprise haircuts that are Rose's fault, surprise rainstorms, they're honestly adorable together, turtle!mylene
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-30
Updated: 2019-07-28
Packaged: 2020-03-29 14:11:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 27
Words: 11,113
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19021549
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Havendance/pseuds/Havendance
Summary: A series of short works written for the cutest canon couple. Written for Myvan May 2018.





	1. Smol & Tol

**Author's Note:**

> I finally got around to making an account here, so I'm slowly cross-posting my old fics here from fanfiction.net.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ivan's t-shirts are way too big for Mylene.

Yes, Ivan realized that he was big, and yes, he realized that his girlfriend was small, but the size difference had never really hit him that hard. But it kept striking him again and again and today happened to be one of those days. 

They were walking down to the library when Alix sprinted past, not really looking where she was going, but not really running into them either, so Ivan didn’t really mind. And then Kim (that absolute idiot) ran past and he was shooting a water gun at Alix, only to miss and hit Mylene full-on, soaking her. He should’ve known to look where he was going.

“Hey!” Ivan took an angry step forward, fists clenched. “Watch where you’re shooting that thing, you idiot!”

Kim didn’t act like he’d heard him at all. He’d already vanished around the corner to the sound of laughter and rushing water.

Ivan took a step forward. He was going to show that punk not to mess with his girlfriend. Mylene’s gentle hand on his sleeve stopped him.

“Ivan.” There was nothing like her voice to stop him dead in his tracks. “C-could we just focus on getting dry clothes for now?”

What had he been thinking? Her shirt was soaked and she was dripping water on the ground. “Yeah, do you have a change of clothes?” He could pound Kim’s face in later. 

“No,” she shook her head. “I don’t have gym today.”

Ivan scratched his head and glanced around, trying to come up with a solution. “Uhhh, I think I might have an extra t-shirt in my locker. If you don't mind, that is,” he hurried to add.

She smiled up at him. “I’ll just be glad to get into something dry.”

They walked over to Ivan’s locker. Mylene, taking off her jacket and trying to wring it out on their way there. She wasn’t having much luck. 

The spare t-shirt in question happened to from that one Jagged Stone concert that they’d gone to a while back (he was never one to pass up a good concert t-shirt). It looked very much like something he’d where, and not as much like something that Mylene would wear, but it would have to do for now. 

He waited outside the girl’s bathroom while she was changing, hoping that he didn’t look too much like a creep.

When she came out the shirt looked more like a dress. The sleeves billowed down her arms and it almost came down to her knees.

“Uh, maybe we should go ask Marinette if she can find you something instead.” Ivan should’ve realized that his clothes were much too big for her.

Mylene shook her head. “No, I like it,” she blushed a little. “It reminds me of you.”

Ivan smiled. “I’m glad you like it.” That had just made his day.

Even the fact Kim was sitting behind him later, acting like the total arrogant fellow he was wasn’t enough to ruin it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Clothes sharing is the way to go. Am I right? They don't really do it, but desperate times call for desperate measures, right? (It's all Kim's fault)


	2. Puppy Love

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A list of the presents that Ivan's given Mylene over the years.

**The Inventory of Mylene and Ivan’s relationship:**

Around half a dozen pressed wildflowers. All of them are rather small and none of them have that sort of effortless perfection that the flowers from the florist always have. Mylene isn’t sure what any of their names are.

An unknown number of various candy wrappers. They’re all that remains of a box of chocolates that Ivan got for her back in college and had given to her by leaving one or two on her desk at a time.

A rock that’s mostly grey but glitters if you hold it up to the light in the right way. Ivan said that he found it in the park one day and picked it up because it reminded him of her.

Countless little poems and fragments of song lyrics that he wrote for her. Mylene pasted them all in a scrapbook so she didn’t lose any of them. Sometimes she flips through reading them and smiling.

About a dozen pins some that he made for her, others he bought. One of them is decorated with a cartoonish drawing of two monsters on it, one pink, the other made of rocks. He didn’t give her that one until long after Hawkmoth had been defeated and only the happy memories remained.

A delicate pendant with a dove on it that’s so worn that the copper starting to shine through underneath. Mylene never wears it anymore because the clasp broke soon after she started Lycee.

The ticket stubs from the back alley plays Ivan took her to over the summer. They ended up watching a lot of amateur productions of overly artistic plays, but tickets were cheap and they couldn’t afford anything nicer.

A filmy brightly colored scarf with a floral pattern that he gave her on the first day of Lycee for their two year anniversary. It clashed with her hair but Mylene wore it anyways.

A pair of dangly opal earrings that Ivan gave her for her birthday, remembering that opals were her favorite stone. Her ears had grown back together at the time because she didn’t wear earrings that often, but she’d gotten them re-pierced just so she could wear them.

The concert t-shirts from Jagged Stone’s last tour before he disappeared for five years exploring the Amazon rainforest. They both agreed that the shirts were hideous (Marinette hadn’t designed them) but they kept them anyway because they were collectible and besides, then they could match.

The incredibly cheesy rom-com trilogy that Mylene spent all night watching at the slumber party the girls had thrown when she broke up with Ivan over spring break. Marinette had hosted it and they gossiped and ate day old pastries until late in the night.

The CD with songs that Ivan wrote for her apologizing and asking if she would have him back that he recorded with Adrien and Luka’s help. It wasn’t very long, but Mylene listened to it over and over again.

A paper crown decorated with fake jewels and googly eyes that he made her after she buzzed her over summer break with Rose’s help. He’d said that she needed something bright with her dreadlocks gone.

The lopsided pastel hat Ivan had knit for her when his grandma taught them both how to knit during the winter. It wasn’t very good at keeping out the cold but Mylene made sure to wear it once or twice anyway, it wasn’t like the one she made for him was any better.

A stack of notes and love letters they’d written to each other when they didn’t have any classes together the last year of Lycee. Mylene got in trouble more than once for not paying attention in class because she was writing one.

Her friendship bracelet from the matching set she’d made them after Juleka and Rose taught her how.

The ticket stubs from the honest to goodness actual professional theatre production that he’d brought her to celebrate graduation.

A taped-together menu from their favorite restaurant to go on dates to during university. They had gone so often that all the staff knew them by name.

The ring Ivan had given her the summer after they graduated. He’d looked so nervous as he got down on one knee and offered it, apologizing because it wasn’t diamond, but he knew that opals were better. Mylene had cut him off before he could start to ramble and told him that it was absolutely perfect.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I ended up trying something different for this, but I like how it turned out. It just feels really cute.


	3. Ice Cream

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ivan thinks that eating ice cream in the middle of winter is stupid, but Mylene wants it, so he'll come along.

Ivan wasn't sure exactly what had come over him when he's agreed to go out and get ice cream with Mylene; it was the middle of January and below freezing and anyone who was the least bit sane would be spending their time inside in front of the fire where it was warm, not risking frostbite in the middle of the night. That's what he would be doing at least. But Mylene had gotten a major craving for ice cream, which he didn't have just lying around in the freezer (it was the middle of winter, Ivan would be crazy to want to be colder than he actually was.)

They had bundled up and rushed across the street from the subway exit to the shop, Ivan's face turning red from the buffeting cold winds. Now that they were actually in the relative warmth of the ice cream shop, Ivan relaxed a little and hung back waiting while Mylene placed her order. The guy behind the counter looked a little surprised that someone had actually come by this close to closing. 

A few minutes later Mylene was standing next to him eating a scoop of chocolate ice cream.

"Want a bite?" she offered.

Ivan shook his head. "No thanks." It was too cold for ice cream.

Mylene shrugged and went back to eating it as they made their way to a table next to the window. It was nice inside the shop, sort of peaceful and much nicer than standing outside would've been. The way the guy wiping the counter was looking at them, they might have to go back out into that cold sooner than he'd like.

"Oh!" Mylene's soft gasp of surprise startled him a little. "It's snowing."

Ivan looked out the window to see that, yes, there was a slight picturesque dusting falling over everything. Maybe the cold wasn't so bad after all.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think that my original idea for this involved Mylene really wanting mango ice cream but none of the stores having it, but I ended up writing this instead. 
> 
> On a different note, Ivan is definitely more of a summer person.


	4. Thunder

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alix is camping out on a dare. Mylene and Ivan are just there to help her get set up, but then it starts to rain.

“All clear,” Mylene waved at the bush her friends were hiding behind, or trying to hide behind in Ivan’s case. He was a bit too big to hide behind bushes anymore.

Alix poked her head up. She was wearing that over the top hat stuck full of twigs and leaves for camouflage. After looking around furtively, she gestured to Ivan and the two of them dragged the tent box out from its hiding place.

Mylene followed them over and helped them unload the box, spreading out all the parts. Overhead, the sky was becoming overcast and a pleasant breeze was relieving them of some of the late spring heat. She hadn’t ever put up a tent before, but Alix had and she was the one giving the directions. Once the tent was set up, Alix ordered threw a camouflage sheet over the top.

“Are you sure this is legal?” Mylene asked as she helped to pin down the sheet.

“Probably?” Alix’s answer didn’t exactly fill her with confidence.

Mylene exchanged a glance with Ivan. From his expression, they had some similar doubts.

“Is this really a good idea?” Ivan asked.

Alix shrugged. “Probably not, but Kim would never let me hear the end of it if I backed out now.” She glared up at the overcast sky and slipped into the tent.

The wind was picking up. Mylene and Ivan exchanged another glance. Ivan shrugged before crawling inside. Mylene took a quick look around before following him in.

The inside of the tent was cramped and dim. It was meant for two people, not three, and Ivan had to count for at least one and a half. 

“Do we really all have to be here?” he asked.

Alix looked at him like he was crazy. “Yeah, I need witnesses to prove to Kim that I actually camped out here all night. Besides, you owe me.”

They did, in fact, owe Alix. Just why was rather a long story. So they started to make themselves comfortable; Ivan curled up as much as he could in one part of the tent and Mylene snuggled up against him. Alix claimed the other part of the tent and lay down, testing the ground.

There was the sound of a few raindrops on the roof of the tent; just a few at first but gradually picking up. Within a minute, it was pouring.

Alix swore and ran out of the tent, rushing back in a minute later with her backpack. Both of them looked rather soaked.

She started to spread out her stuff, unrolling her sleeping bag and setting a LED lamp in the middle of the tent. 

"Uh, is the tent waterproof?" Ivan asked.

"It should be," Alix said, not looking up. She tossed a blanket at them. "You can use this."

"I don't think we're staying all night," Mylene said. "Just until the rain lets up." She gave a glance back to Ivan, who nodded in agreement.

Alix shrugged. "Whatever you say. It's still going to get cold. And you'd better show up at the crack of dawn tomorrow to vouch for me." 

Another crack of thunder came from the sky outside, Mylene huddled closer to Ivan for comfort. They both curled up under the blanket to wait out the storm.

The rain didn't let up until three in the morning. Mylene must have fallen asleep at some point because she found herself blinking awake when the familiar rush of rain stopped. The tent was dark and felt strange. Mylene was tired and just curled back up against Ivan's familiar presence, going back to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This started as a scenario to write storm cuddles but I ended up writing too much set up and not enough cuddles. *shrugs* Oops.


	5. Spoopy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's movie night, but Mylene may have picked the wrong movie to watch.

“Aaah!” Mylene started.

Ivan pulled her a little closer to him on the couch. On the tv screen, an evil doll had just stepped out of the shadows holding a bloodstained knife. “Are you sure you want to keep watching this?” he asked.

“Not r-really, but I chose it! I should see it through to the end.” She was huddled under the blanket and kept looking away from the horror movie they were watching.

The screams coming from the screen were abruptly cut off by a moist sounding splurt. Ivan felt Myene flinch and clutch the blanket even closer to her. 

“That isn’t how it works,” Ivan said, putting a comforting arm around her. “We don’t have to finish it if you don’t like it.”

She didn’t answer, just hiding her head under the blanket as a bunch of creepy dolls came to life and started to roam the house.

“Why’d you even choose this movie anyway?” he asked.

“Juleka said that it w-w-was really good.”

Ivan was pretty sure that Juleka and Mylene didn’t share the same taste in movies. “It has creepy murder dolls on the front.”

“They could’ve been nice,” Mylene said defensively.

“The movie’s called Murder Mansion”. 

“It could’ve been a murder mystery!”

“I guess it could’ve,” Ivan acknowledged.

The scene changed from creepy dolls riding in the dumbwaiter to the plucky band of teenagers finding the very bloody, very dead body of their comrade lying on the floor. Ivan saw Mylene growing paler beside him out of the corner of his eye.

“We’re only twenty minutes in, we still have time to watch something else instead,” he offered.

“Maybe…”

Ivan sighed. “Do you really want to sit through another hour and a half of this?”

“No,” Mylene admitted softly.

Ivan got up off the couch and took out the CD. “What do you want to watch?”

“You can choose, surprise me.”

Ivan nodded, scanning the stack of movies and picking one out. “Coco sound good?”

“Yeah.”

He slipped in the CD and sat back down on the couch, settling in for a much more enjoyable movie night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Two things: 
> 
> 1) Coco is a great movie  
> 2) I'm not a horror person (like Mylene)


	6. Kwami Swap

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alya spies on a pair of superheroes.

Marinette knows that Alya is obsessed with superheroes. She claims to see them behind every lamp post and around every corner. She hosts a blog filled with shaky cell phone pictures that turn out to be cosplayers or normal people more often than not. Which is why it’s so surprising when she comes up with a picture that can’t be explained by any of the normal means.

“Girl, check this out.” Alya practically shoves her phone in Marinette’s face as the class starts to settle down.

Marinette blinks a few times before processing the best quality image Alya has ever presented her with. It’s two people sitting on a bench in an abandoned park at night. Both of them are wearing costumes and masks. One of them big and the other small. The first with a giant shield and turtle themed armor, the other with a silky butterfly themed suit and what could either be a wand or a cane.

It actually looks authentic for once. 

“Wow, that’s so cool. Do you know who they are?” Marinette asks.

Alya shakes her head. “No, but I intend to find out. Look, I got more pictures of them.”

She continues to flip through. The next one shows the two of them standing up across from each other.

Then, the big one’s leaned down and the small ones reached up and they’ve had a perfect picturesque kiss under the moonlight.

“It’s so… pretty,” Marinette says.

“Yeah,” Alya says. “It’s definitely going on the blog. I’m going to get to the bottom of this.”

Marinette doesn’t doubt Alya for a second.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I personally love butterfly!Mylene and Turtle!Ivan. But, writing action sequences isn't really my thing, so instead, you get Alya taking pictures of them.


	7. Night and Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A vampire AU because why not.

Ivan is one of the few vampires living in Paris’ vampire quarter that actually gets up just after the sun sets. It’s one of the quietest times in that part of the city and he likes it. Most of the humans have cleared the area and most of the vampires haven’t yet come out. He knows the few people who are out at this time and that makes it surprising when he actually sees a new face.

She’s small and has both brightly colored hair and, for some reason, a brightly colored poncho that looks a few sizes too big for her. She also looks lost. Call him a sap, but Ivan feels a little sorry for her. She’s probably not from around here and the vampire quarter isn’t the best place to wander into accidentally.

“You looking for something?” Ivan calls to her.

She jumps and looks around until she sees him. “O-oh, uh, yes. Do y-you need to see my papers?” She’s already digging around in her oversized purse and has shoved some papers at him before Ivan can tell her that no, he doesn’t.

She’s obviously either foreign or newly turned. (Ivan’s money is on the later. That would explain the poncho, and they don’t get many foreigners around here.) He gives her back the papers without looking at them. “You don’t need to show those around here.”

“Oh, sorry,” she puts the papers away and hesitates for a second. “Could you g-give me directions please?”

“Sure,” it’s not like he has anything better to do. “Where?”

She rattles off an address. To his surprise, it’s one that he actually knows off the top of his head. “Juleka’s?” he asks.

She nods. “You know her?”

“I know of her.” She has a reputation for her interest in the occult and Alix had run into her more than once. 

The streets are starting to fill back up and Ivan turns and starts to walk. He looks back to see that she’s still standing there. “Coming?”

She nods and runs to catch up. 

They start to wind their way through the streets. “My name’s Ivan, what’s your’s?”

“Uh, Mylene.”

“Mylene.” He tries it out on his tongue. “It’s a pretty name.”

She smiles and blushes, she looks so pretty when she smiles. “Thank you.”

Their conversation is slow to start, but it picks up speed. All too soon they’ve reached Juleka’s apartment and he has to say goodbye, but not before he promises that he’ll see her again.

* * *

 

Ivan claims that he’s just checking up on Mylene to make sure that she’s settled, but honestly, he’s a little smitten. Maybe more than a little. About a week after her first met her, he knocks on Juleka’s door. To his surprise, it’s Mylene who opens it. 

“Hello, Ivan, wasn’t it?” She’s not wearing the poncho anymore but the clothes she is wearing are just as bright.

“Yeah, Mylene?” he asks in reply.

She nods and glances back over her shoulder in the apartment. “Uh, Juleka’s... busy right now, if you came to see her.”

"I was actually here to check up and, uh, you know, make sure you were settled in.” He hopes he doesn’t sound like a creep.

Mylene smiles. “It’s taken a little getting used to, but yes, I’m doing fine.”

Ivan becomes uncomfortably aware that they’re both still standing at the doorway. “I’m glad to hear that.” He hesitates for just a second before saying what comes next. “Um, I was wondering if you maybe wanted to go out and get a drink?” Please say yes, he hopes.

She looks over her shoulder into the apartment again. “Uh, sure!” She says smiling brightly. “Do you have a place in mind? I don’t know the area that well.”

“Yeah,” he doesn’t actually, but it’s easy enough to find one. He offers her his arm like he imagines a real gentleman would. “Ready?”

She smiles and links her arm through his. “Yep!”

Ivan leads her through the crowded streets and to one of his favorite bars. It’s dark and the seating is rather cramped (though that might just be because he’s larger than the average vampire) but there's live music most of the time that doesn’t completely suck and the beer’s pretty good (vampires drink stuff other than blood). 

He orders his usual and she asks for the same and they sit together at a slightly cramped table in one corner.

"So, how do you know Juleka?” he asks after they’ve both taken a few sips. She doesn’t really strike him as ex-girlfriend material, but Alix didn’t either and you never know.

Mylene takes a second to think before answering, taking a sip of her beer and making a face. “We used to be classmates back in Lycee. She dropped out when she got turned but we kind of kept in touch. She was the first person I thought of when… it happened.” She takes another sip only to make that same face.

“Sorry,” Ivan winces a little, “I didn’t mean to bring that up.” Most people don’t like to talk about their turning. It’s a sensitive subject.

“You didn’t know.” He notices how she doesn’t exactly forgive him. There’s a bit of an awkward pause. “What about you? How do you know her?”

“I don’t really know her.” It’s not entirely the truth, but hey, he’s not going to get in the nitty-gritty details with someone he just met. He shrugs. “She just has a reputation.”

“Good or bad?”

“Mixed.” There isn’t really a good way to describe it. 

“Oh.”

The awkward silence returns. They both drink wordlessly for a bit. Mylene makes that face again.

“So, uh, do you have any hobbies?” Ivan asks in an attempt to rejuvenate the conversation.

Her face lights up. “I love gardening. I used to have a little herb garden back in Lycee and it always smelled so good!”

Ivan smiles and nods as he listens to her talk passionately about every garden she’s ever had. He can’t say that he’s ever put much thought into gardening, being a creature of the night and all, but she likes it, so he’ll like it.

“What about you?” she asks. Ivan is jolted back to the conversation. “Do you have any hobbies?”

“Um, I write poetry sometimes,” Ivan admits sheepishly. “And I read when I get the chance.”

“Could I read it sometime?” 

Ivan scratches the back of his neck and looks away. “I don’t know, nobody’s ever read it before.”

She smiles. “Well, if you ever do show someone, I’d love to read it.”

Ivan isn’t really sure if he’ll ever show anybody the stuff he’s written in those notebooks shoved under his bed, but it’s nice that she’s taking an interest.

He really enjoys the rest of his time with her. He hopes she feels the same. By the time they leave, they’ve exchanged numbers. Ivan notices that her beer’s still half full when they leave. A real shame that she didn’t like it.

* * *

 

On their second date (because somewhere along the line things became official), Mylene decides that they’ll go to the movies, so they sit together in the dark theatre watching some cheesy new romance movie and pretend that they’re normal young adults on a date and not undead vampires going to the movies at three in the morning. Ivan remembers that the pretending’s important when your entire world gets turned on its head.

On their third date, Ivan helps Mylene move into her new apartment. She doesn’t really have a lot of stuff to move. Space is at a premium in the vampire quarter due to the fact that its residents don’t die and the rest of the city isn’t very keen on this section expanding. Newer vampires like him and Mylene have to scrunch into tiny places. She found a one-room attic apartment in pretty good shape. Ivan lives in a basement.

After they’ve transferred what little stuff she has, they go out for drinks to a nearby bar (the alcoholic kind, not the other kind). Mylene takes a few sips of her drink, making that same face every time until at last she pushes it away and sighs.

“I used to like this brand,” she says. “Now it just tastes wrong.”

Ivan nods sympathetically. “I used to love chocolate.”

He meant to cheer her up but she just looks more upset. “Chocolate, another thing I’ll probably hate now.”

He shrugs. “It’s different for everyone.”

Mylene sighs. “I’m just tired of everything being different.”

Ivan nods again but doesn’t say anything, waiting for her to continue.

“I miss the sun and my garden and being able to check my hair in the mirror. And it’s weird how I have to drink blood and I actually like it,” she shivered. “It gives me the heebie-jeebies.”

Ivan reaches across the table and puts his hand on hers. It dwarfs her completely. He remembered just how difficult the transition had been. “It’ll get better.”

Mylene gives a little smile. “I hope so.”  

* * *

 

On their fourth date, Ivan gives her a packet of seeds for flowers that bloom at night. She absolutely loves them, planting them in a box outside her apartment only window. (It used to be boarded shut, he helped her take out the boards and put in a very good pair of curtains instead.) She sends him pictures all the time once they start to bloom.

On their fifth date, Ivan has a special surprise planned for Mylene. He brings her to the closest botanical garden. There aren't many people there since they showed up at the crack of dawn and they probably look absolutely ridiculous with every inch of their skin covered but Ivan knows that it’s all worth it when he sees the look of joy on her face. (Well, seeing being a relative term. They’re both wearing huge sun hats and veils on top of the SPF 100 sunscreen. He can still tell how much she’s enjoying it from the way she moves and the joy in her voice.)

They spend most of the morning there until the sun gets a little too bright and they both start to yawn. It’s been a while since Ivan was up this early. On the subway ride back to the vampire quarter they doze off against each other and probably end up scaring some of the other passengers. 

She tells him later that that’s the best day she’s had since she was turned. When he hears that, Ivan smiles and starts planning the next outing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not sure when I decided to write a vampire AU for these two but it ended up being the longest thing I wrote for this and also one of my favorites.


	8. Courage

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lady Mylene sneaks off to wish Sir Ivan good luck.

It was Ivan's first tournament as a knight, so of course, Mylene was there to cheer him on. She was a fine lady and not supposed to have favorites, but that didn't stop her from having her secrets every now and then. And if one of those secrets happened to be slipping off in the crowd to personally wish the newly knighted Sir. Ivan luck, well, no one would be any wiser. 

Ivan was in the stable standing next to his horse, a beautiful black mare which he teasingly called Coal. He looked like he might be about to throw up. When he heard her enter the tent, he turned and Mylene watched as he tried to stifle his nerves.

"Lady Mylene, you're not supposed to be here." He said, a little shocked.

Mylene shushed him. "I wanted to wish you luck."

Ivan was fidgeting with his helmet in his hands. "I'll be sure to win now." he sounded much more confident than he looked.

Mylene pulled a flower that she'd been hiding out from behind her back. "Here, a token of my favor."

Ivan took it gently, dwarfing the little flower in his large hands. "You're not supposed to have favorites."

"Shhh," Mylene hushed him. "No one will ever know."

Ivan tucked away in Coal's bridle. "Thank you." He looked slightly more relaxed now.

Mylene gave him a smile and slipped out again, heading back before anyone could notice she was gone. She knew that Ivan was sure to do just fine.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Take some nervous Ivan for once. I'm a total sucker for knight and lady relationships so of course, I had to write it into here.


	9. Serenade

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ivan's living in a creepy old house that is definitely haunted. The ghost really isn't that bad though.

Ivan’s great uncle or something had recently died. He didn’t really know the old man that well, but apparently he’d inherited the old family home. Since he was currently broke and looking for a job, he’d moved in.

The old place gave him the creeps. It creaked and groaned and whistled with even the smallest breeze. At night, the wind almost sounded like someone humming. The first thing Ivan did after getting a job was to invest in a white noise maker. His sleep greatly improved after that.

One night, when he got up to go the bathroom, (he knew he shouldn't have drunk that much water before bed) the ancient humming of the old house sounded much more like an actual voice. It was creepy. Ivan decided that he should get back in his nice bed as soon as possible. 

Unfortunately for him, fate apparently wanted to keep him from his bed because when he was groggily walking back down the hall a faintly glowing woman in white drifted past in front of him. Ivan did a double take. Looking a second, he was afraid to see that his eyes had not, as he had hoped, deceived him. A rather short see-through woman was singing softly. The tune was slightly familiar. It was a ghost.

She didn't notice him. For a minute Ivan just stood there, frozen in fear in shock. Regaining his wits, he tried to slip past her only to have her turn and latch right on to him with a gaze that froze him in his tracks. Shit.

“Y-you can see me?” Her voice was airy and sounded… nervous?

Ivan felt a little annoyed. He should be the scared one over. “Y-yes,” he stammered out.

The woman started smoothing out her skirts. “O-oh, I hope I wasn’t bothering you.”

Ivan had the distinct impression that if he told her she was, she would burst into tears. So he didn’t. “You weren’t.”

“I, uh, just liked the music you were playing earlier and couldn’t help but s-sing it.”

“You did?” Jagged Stone really didn’t strike him as the sort of thing a ghost would enjoy, but he’d never met a ghost before.

She nodded earnestly. “Do you think you could play it more often?” she asked eagerly. “Especially the one that goes like this,” she started to sing  _ Trepidation _ , well, all the words were wrong, but the tune was there.

“Maybe tomorrow? When I’ve actually gotten some sleep?”

She took a step back. “Oh, yeah, of course. I’ll try to stop singing.”

Ivan nodded. “You do that.”

She left, humming much softer than before.

That night, Ivan slept the best he had in a long time. And next morning, he was sure to listen to  _ Trepidation _ when he was getting ready.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The obvious thing would be for Ivan to be serenading Mylene, but I ended up writing it the other way around. Ivan would be way more scared out of his wits if he weren't so tired and startled.


	10. Band Practice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mylene goes to Kitty Section's practice. She honestly wouldn't be there if she weren't dating the drummer.

Mylene was sitting next to Marinette, watching as the band Ivan was in got set up. Marinette was already making goo-goo eyes at Adrien. Mylene was making sure that her earplugs were fastened firmly in her ears.

Rose started the band off. “We are Kitty Section!” she shouted. “1, 2, 3, 4!”

The band started to play a song about an adorable little bunny rabbit. Only, the music genre didn’t quite match up to the words. And it was loud. Very loud. Honestly, Mylene thought, she wouldn’t be here if Ivan hadn’t invited her over. This would probably be the last time she showed up to one of their practices.

Next to her, Marinette was completely enthralled. Mylene smiled to herself as she toyed with the thought that maybe it wasn’t the music that her friend was interested in.

After about three painful minutes of music, the song ended with a bang. The performers struck a dramatic pose for a few seconds before relaxing and smiling. Mylene took out her earplugs.

“So, how was it?” Luka asked, looking straight at Marinette.

“I loved it!” Marinette immediately started gushing. “It was so good, especially that solo in the middle! You guys are great!”

Mylene could’ve sworn she saw Luka blush a little. “Thanks.” He turned to look at her. “How about you, Mylene, what'd you think?”

Put on the spot, Mylene picked her brain looking for something to say. “It was, uh, very loud, and, um, energetic.”

Ivan winced sympathetically from behind the drums. “Sorry, Mylene, we don’t really play anything quiet.”

“N-no, it’s fine. Your music isn’t bad.”

Adrien laughed (it was a friendly laugh, not a mean one, which was nice). “Not bad. That’s not the worst compliment I’ve ever received.” 

Mylene could feel the atmosphere relax a bit. She looked over at Ivan and he shrugged. She put back in her earplugs. 

Rose counted the band off again and they launched into another very loud song about true love and flowers. Mylene watched and did her best to endure.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I like to think that Rose has a strong influence on the lyrics and everyone else just really likes rock music for Kitty Section.


	11. Fantasy AU

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Ivan the dragon steals away princess Mylene.

Dragons like gold. And gems. And occasionally cute girls. Ivan was usually the sort to like the first two and also a good bard on occasion (he was never one to say no to some good music.) However, his greatest treasure was a pretty, tiny princess named Mylene. He’d stolen her away from a tower that she’d been hidden in and left a pile of treasure behind. He was pretty sure they hadn’t missed her.

Mylene was really nice to have around. She was sweet and made good food (admittedly in portions too small to fill him up). She also didn’t mind when he fell asleep for days on end as dragons were prone to do. Whenever he woke up, she always showed him what she’d been up to and gave him some of the yummy food she’d saved.

One rainy day, when it was too rainy and dreary out for him to really go out hunting (he’d eaten recently enough anyway) and he was curled up with Mylene sitting down against him, working on her sewing, he asked her why her family would stick her in that musty old tower in the first place.

She laughed a little. “It’s not really musty, it’s actually quite well kept up. And it’s a family tradition of sorts.”

“What sort of tradition involves locking beautiful young ladies up?” It didn’t sound like a very nice tradition.

Mylene blushed and stared down at her embroidery. “I’m not sure. I think it involves building character or something.” She shrugged. “It’s only for a year, anyway.”

“What happens after a year?”

“Well, then my fiance comes and gets me and we get married.”

“Do you want to get married?”

Mylene thought about that for a bit. “I don’t know. I haven’t met him or anything; it was just something that was supposed to happen.” 

Ivan had always gotten the impression that marriage was a happy thing from what the bards told him. Mylene didn’t sound very happy. “I could eat him if you want.”

She shook her head. “N-no, don’t eat Kim.”

Kim. Sounded like the sort of name a jerk would have. “Are you sure.”

“Yes. Besides, I’ve still got six months before he comes looking for me. We don’t need to worry about it until then.”

“If you say so.” Ivan curled inward a little and listened to Mylene soft focused breathing as she worked on her sewing. After a while, a thought struck him. “I could just eat him a little,” he offered.

“No! Not even a little.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm a fan of good fantasy AU and I figured that having Ivan as a dragon that looked scarier than he actually was would be a good fit.


	12. Movie Night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mylene isn't sure if she wants to see Nino's movie or not.

Mylene wasn’t sure whether she would rather know the truth about  _ Horrificator _ , or just let things lie. Nino had gotten the class’s entry all up to snuff and turned it in. She never saw the footage.

The thing about being akumatized was that you had the choice of whether or not you wanted to know what had happened between when your mind blanked on the most disastrous bad day of your life and when you came to with Paris’ heroes standing over you. People like Ivan, whose akumatization had been broadcasted and shown long after the fact, didn’t have much of a choice when it came to deciding just how much they wanted to know, but only their class had been in the locked building where her’s had occurred so things were different.

Nino had invited her to what he called the cast party that weekend to celebrate being done, even if the movie hadn’t won. The plan was to eat cookies provided by Marinette (everyone knew her’s were the best), joke around, and watch the fruit of their labors.

Mylene put off deciding until the day of.

“Are you going tonight?” Ivan asked her as they worked on homework together at her kitchen table.

“I don’t know,” Mylene said.

“No one will blame you if you don’t show up.,” Ivan said sympathetically. “We could watch a movie together or something if you don’t want to go.”

A completely unrelated movie did sound nice, but if she wanted to be brave, she couldn’t hide from what had happened. “I’ll think about it.”

She thought about it for most of the day until Ivan texted her after dinner.

**Ivan:** _ what are you up for? _

Mylne took a deep breath and made her choice.

**Myene:** _ let’s go to the party. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is less shippy than some other things I've written, but since I already did a movie night for Spoopy, I had to branch out a bit for this one.


	13. Soft

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mylene gets a haircut.

To put it simply, Mylene’s head looked like a freshly-hatched chick, Ivan thought. All of the brightly colored dreadlocks he was used to seeing had all been shaved off and in their place, all that remained was her short blond hair sticking up in parts, with occasional splotches of color. He kind of wanted to reach out and touch it.

“Uh, when did you get a haircut?” When he’d left for the camping trip, her hair had been the same as it always was.

“The day before yesterday.” Mylene kept reaching to fiddle with her hair only to find that it wasn’t there.

“I didn’t realize you were thinking about cutting it,” Ivan said.

“It was kind of sudden. Rose talked me into it.”

“Oh.” Ivan started to reach out, but pulled back his hand. “Can I touch it?” It just looked so petable.

Mylene laughed. “Sure.”

Ivan gently stroked her head. Her hair felt so soft. Not that it wasn’t soft before, but it was always in those dreadlocks. 

“I like it,” he said.

Mylene smiled. “I like it too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel like Rose only needs a little bit of a push to cut off people's hair. She's a big fan of short hairstyles.


	14. Beauty and the Beast

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mermaid!AU
> 
> Ivan finds a new pet.

Mylene was lazily lying on a rock and watching the fish float by when she saw Ivan swimming towards the deep part of the ocean that they were supposed to stay away from. He was carrying a big bag that seemed to be wiggling, or was that her imagination? She didn’t have anything better to do, so Mylene decided to see what he was up to.

“What’s in the sack?” She asked, catching up with him.

Ivan jumped at the sound of her voice. “Nothing.” He wouldn’t meet her eye.

“Oh.” 

The bag Ivan was holding most definitely wriggled this time. Mylene swam back a little bit. “Is it supposed to move?” she asked nervously.

Ivan mumbled something.

“What?’

“Yes,” he admitted. After a few seconds, he sighed and glanced around furtively. “I’ll show you, but not here.” 

Mylene nodded and followed him.

As they ventured further into the ocean, the water got darker and heavier. Mylene shivered and inched closer to Ivan. She’d never been this deep before. At last, they reached a long, deep crevasse that looked like it was filled with swirling black ink. She almost expected there to be a sign reading ‘here be monsters’. Maybe she shouldn’t have tagged along.

Ivan set the sack down on seafloor and untied the knot sealing it shut. A squid half the size that she was burst out and started to swiftly swim in circles. 

“Come on, Beauty,” Ivan crooned, “calm down girl.” He reached out to pet her. The squid darted away from his hand.

“What is that?” Mylene asked, keeping her distance from the creature.

Ivan was still trying to catch the squid. “She’s a baby Giant Kraken. Her name’s Beauty.”

“O-oh.” Mylene was pretty sure that raising Giant Krakens was illegal due to their tendency to grow larger than most large buildings. “Where you g-get her from?”

“She hatched from an egg I found, about the size of my head.” He gestured with his hands. Beauty swam closer now that Ivan wasn’t actively chasing her. He took his chance and snatched her. “She hatched about a week ago. I wasn’t expecting her to grow so fast. Promise you won’t tell anyone?”

Mylene didn’t hesitate. “Promise.” She’d probably made worse decisions in her life.

Ivan relaxed. He held Beauty out. “Do you want to pet her?” he kept talking as Mylene did so. “I brought her here because she was starting to outgrow the cave I was hiding and I’m not sure where Giant Kraken live, but this seemed like the best place. There’s room here.”

Mylene nodded and watching as Ivan let go as his pet and shooed her off towards the canyon.

“Go on,” he said. “Make yourself at home.”

Beauty darted off to explore. Ivan sighed as she left.

Mylene hugged him. “I’m sure we can find a good place for her.”

Ivan nodded. “I hope so.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This fic sprung from the realization that I hadn't actually written anything mermaid themed yet. And also because I didn't have the time to write an all-out Disney AU.


	15. Comfort

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mylene's a little nervous.

Mylene was standing outside the door to the office, taking in deep, nervous breaths and singing her song to herself. This was her first real audition, not like an audition for one of Nino's amateur movies, an actual audition. It was perfectly reasonable to start freaking out.

Ivan put his big hand on her shoulder. "You're going to do great, Mylene."

“But what if I mess up? Or what if I forget my lines?”

Ivan bent down and looked her in the eye. “If you mess up, then you can just get back up again. You can do this.”

Mylene relaxed a little. “Thanks.” Ivan things sound doable. She worked to slow her breathing and looked down at her watch. Ten minutes until the time they told her to get there and Papa had always said that it was important to show up early (especially after  _ that  _ time).

She reached out and started to open the door, but Ivan’s hand on her shoulder stopped her. “Wait,” he said.

She did.

He leaned down and kissed her. “For good luck,” he said softly.

Mylene smiled. She could do this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel like this would be a voice acting gig, but I don’t actually know how audition processes go, so I tried to keep it general.


	16. I'll protect you

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 5 times Ivan swears to protect her and 1 time she swears to protect him.

 

_1._

“I’ll protect you,” Ivan tells her when they’re trapped at The Bubbler’s party when Nino gets akumatized. He drags her out of the corner she’s hyperventilating in when The Bubbler looks their way too long. 

Mylene clutches his hand like her life depends on as they make nervous small talk with Rose and Juleka at the refreshments table. They get separated when the Bubbler orders them to dance. And the next time she sees him is when he’s drifting away in a bubble.

She stays next to Juleka for the rest of the afternoon. Juleka won’t let her panic.

 

_2._

“Don’t worry, I got you,” Ivan tells her when Chloe’s butler is akumatized right in front of their eyes. Mylene holds his hand a little tighter (actually, more like a _lot_ tighter). They both recoil as somehow the villain takes control of others, leaping from classmate to classmate. And then it’s on Ivan and he lunges and he isn’t himself.

It’s gone as quickly as it comes and Ivan’s clutching his head while Mylene’s looking at him in fear. 

They hide in a closet together until the ladybugs fly by.

 

_3._

“I’ll make sure they don’t get to you,” Ivan tells her when Darkblade attacks their hotel. He hugs her and Mylene relaxes as he holds her close. They stay close together as Marinette takes the lead and gets them safely to the roof.

They watch the battle play out below, looking more like something from a low-budget fantasy movie than what’s really happening. Mylene tries to avoid looking at the knights attacking the front gate of the hotel.

When a black wall comes near they huddle together and Mylene’s memories are filled with a blackness and a sense of metal until the ladybugs come and restore everything once again.

 

_4._

“Stay close,” Ivan tells her as they run from Glaciator. It was just supposed to be a nice evening to go out and get ice cream, but akumas interrupt everything now.

The giant ice cream monster turns and stares right at them.

Ivan takes her hand and pulls her as they run away.

Glancing back, Mylene can see that Glaciator has lost interest. She breathes a sigh of relief.

 

_5._

“Don’t let her see you,” Ivan tells her as he pushes her behind the stairs to hide from timebreaker. Mylene doesn’t argue. They both saw what she did to Rose. 

She doesn’t hide well enough though. She ends of tripping and falling. The last thing she feels is Timebreaker’s cold hand on her back.

 

_6._

“Don’t worry, I-I’ll protect you,” Mylene says as she uses the power of the turtle miraculous to raise a shield to protect the class. Part of her is in denial, part of her is screaming, but the part of her that loves Ivan is stronger than the others. She won’t let him get hurt, even if she is terrified out of her wits.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really like how this one turned out. After reading imthepunchlord’s absolutely wonderful entry for Courage (you should all read it), I was sold on turtle!Mylene and decided to try it out.


	17. Breathtaking

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marinette designs a dress for Mylene.

Ivan sitting on the couch in the Dupain-Cheng’s living room. Marinette had shoved him in their with a couple of very good cookies before disappearing up into her room with Mylene. He had been banished from the realm of the girls.

Marinette had made Mylene a dress and he wasn’t allowed to see it until they were all done up there. He could an awful lot of giggling going on up there as well voices that sounded like they belonged to more than just the two girls.

At last Marinette called down: “You can come on up now, Ivan!”

He put down the book filled with mouth-watering pictures of deserts that he’d been flipping through and climbed the stairs before squeezing through Marinette’s trapdoor.

Up there, Marinette, Rose, and Juleka (he thought there had been more than two voices) were all standing around with a look on their face that meant they were planning something.

Once he’d stood where they told him to, Rose went behind Marinette’s screen.

“Come on!” she said, pulling Mylene out.

“Ta-da!” Marinette said.

Mylene looked beautiful. She smiled and twirled, causing the multi-colored skirt to flare out. “What do you think?” she asked.

“It’s perfect,” Ivan said once he’d finally found his voice.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Behold, designer Marinette in action.


	18. Unexpected

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ivan and Mylene get caught in a surprise rainstorm

Ivan and Mylene had just stepped out of the theater when it started to rain. It was just sprinkling, so Ivan wasn’t really worried about it.

Mylene smiled. “I love it when it sprinkles!” She spread out her arms and tried to catch a raindrop on her tongue.

The rain did feel nice, taking some of the bite out of the warm early summer day. “I just hope that it doesn’t pick up any,” Ivan said, glancing nervously up at the sky. He hadn’t brought an umbrella.

“It doesn’t look like it will,” Mylene said. “The sun’s still shining and everything!”

“Maybe we’ll see a rainbow.”

Mylene’s sparkled. “I hope so!”

They started walking towards the bus stop down the street, raindrops occasionally falling on their heads. When they were only a couple of minutes away, the rain started to pick up. 

They started to walk faster.

All of a sudden the rain started to pour down in huge sheets.

“Wha-” Ivan started to say.

Mylene gave a little shriek.

They started to run but were soaked by the time they reached the bus stop. Once they were safely there and the rain was just a dull roar on the roof instead of something actively attacking them, Mylene started to giggle.

“What?” Ivan asked. He was dripping and wasn’t in a very giggling mood. Being in wet clothes sucked.

“It was fun!” Mylene said, still giggling. 

The laughter was contagious, soon Ivan was giggling too. Some of it was probably out of relief.

The downpour ended as suddenly as it had started and in a few minutes, it was back to sprinkling.

“Look!” Mylene exclaimed.

Ivan looked to where she was pointing and saw a rainbow on the horizon. 

“We got lucky.”

“Yep.”

It was a nice afternoon, all things considered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Nothing like some unexpected rain for fluff!


	19. Teach Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ivan's son has some questions about recent history.

It wasn’t until long after Hawkmoth had been defeated that the true magnitude of what the villain had done to Paris really hit Ivan.  His son, Paul, had been learning about it and school and they’d started talking about it. There was something different about seeing it through the eyes of a child that changed it.

“Wait,” Paul was still trying to wrap his head around the whole thing. “This guy was turning people into monsters.”

Ivan nodded. “Almost daily.”

“And you got used to it?”

“Yeah.”

“How?” Paul sounded so incredulous. “Monsters were attacking every day!”

It did sound crazy, but back then it was just the new normal. “People get used to all sorts of things.”

Paul took a  moment to take that in. Then, he was struck by another extremely important question. “Did you ever get turned into a monster?”

Ivan nodded. “I was the first one.”

The look on his son’s face was one of pure awe. “That’s so cool!”

Ivan shrugged. “Not really.”

“But you were the first! You’ve got to have bragging rights!”

Ivan had never thought of it that way before. He smiled. “I guess I do.”

It was nice to get a new perspective.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is more of an implied Myvan than anything, but I liked the idea of the next generation looking at what happened and just being like wtf.


	20. Angst

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Mylene and Ivan can not live happily ever after.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> More lady and knight secret relationship AU! (this takes place in the same universe as courage, but you don’t need to have read it.)

The problem with secrets, Mylene thinks, is that they never end well. They either get and out make a fuss or else something bad happens, but nobody really realizes that it’s bad because they don’t  _ know _ . What was currently going on was most definitely in the second category. Nobody was supposed to know about her and Ivan, and they don’t. But because they don’t know, they’re breaking her heart even as they’re trying to help.

She’s engaged. It’s hard to wrap her mind around even though part of her has known that marriage was in her future since she was a little girl first learning how to sew. It was easy to ignore before tonight. What was one more thing to pretend when she spent so much time pretending with Ivan?

Mylene is leaving tomorrow. Ivan is staying behind. They have one last evening together before they likely never see each other again. Mylene bribes her maid, Rose, to look the other was while she slips away to see her beau one last time.

They don’t talk much. Neither of them is really sure what to say other than hushed goodbyes and whispered I-love-yous. They kiss and touch each other for the last time. She gives him one of her handkerchiefs that she embroidered with a delicate flower design. He gives her a little fish he whittled out a piece of wood. 

The next day, Mylene waves farewell from her carriage. Some of her friends and her family waves back. Ivan, the person she will miss the most, doesn’t, but he meets her gaze for a long second before she tears it away. His fish is strung on a necklace around her neck.

* * *

Many years later, when Mylene is married and a Baroness, she spies a familiar knight at a tournament. His armor and crest are different but his technique remains the same. She can’t help but notice later that night that Ivan has kept her handkerchief all this time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don’t want to write angst for these two. I want them to live happily ever after. However, not even I can figure out a way to take the prompt ‘angst’ and write fluff.


	21. Acting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nino decides to make another movie.

Everyone acknowledged that last year’s entry for the young movie makers competition had not gone as planned, but this year’s entry would be much better. At least that’s what Nino said. Ivan wasn’t sure if he believed him. Marinette had been recruited to do some of the planning this year, so things would at least go smoothly.

In anticipation, Nino had called a meeting (which Marinette had organized) to hype everyone up and infuse everyone with the same level of enthusiasm he had. 

“Okay, crew!” Nino said. “We all know that there were some problems last year when we filmed a horror movie-” 

Mylene flushed a little and scooted closer to him.

“-so this year, we’re filming a murder mystery!”

Everyone began whispering to each other. Ivan could hear Alix making saying snarkily that Chloe should be the victim.

Marinette and Nino quickly hushed the chattering class and Nino went into the finer details about when they would be filming and the roles that would need to be filled.

“Are you going to act in it this year?” Ivan asked Mylene softly.

She shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe?”

“You're the best actress in the class.”

“When I’m not jumping at my own shadow.”

“Mylene, you heard Nino, this one won’t be a horror movie.”

She shrugged again. “I-I’m still not sure.”

Ivan nodded. “Okay.” He didn’t want to push her.

“I need you to all mark down what you’re interested in on this sheet so we can finish planning,” Nino said, wrapping up his spiel. 

Marinette handed out interest sheets. Mylene shoved her’s in her backpack.

“I think you should try acting again,” Ivan said.

“I’ll think about it,” Mylene replied.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I keep coming back to Horrificator because it’s a great episode, one of my favorites. Also, do you think Nino would really take defeat lying down?


	22. Tender

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A reincarnation soulmate AU

Mylene’s dreams start to change after she meets Ivan. They become more vivid, more memorable, more  _ real _ . They change from night to night, but it’s always her and Ivan in them: that much is constant. They’re usually accompanied by strangers but occasionally, she sees another familiar face.

She dreams that they’re both peasants toiling their lives away on land they don’t own. Each day, they wake up and go to sleep with the sun. Daylight is precious and in the winter, food and warmth are moreso. They have children: some die at birth and others die young from various diseases; only a handful make it to adulthood. When Mylene wakes up, she struggles to remember what day it is because part of her mind is telling her that years have passed since she went to sleep.

She dreams that she’s a fine noblewoman and he is a knight. He is  _ her  _ knight. There is not much in the way of war, but he still trains because if you don’t have an army, you’re begging to be attacked. She watches him while she works on her embroidery. When they’re both still young, they meet in secret and exchange heartfelt words and little gifts. Mylene wakes up and when she tries to remember, she is hit by a sense of longing.

She dreams that he is a soldier sent to fight and she is his wife. She works and waits for him to return until one day she answers the door to see a serious-faced man standing there who tells her that her husband is dead. Mylene wakes up with tears in her eyes. She’s glad that Ivan is actually alive.

She dreams that she is a fine actress on the silent screen and he’s her childhood friend who’s always cheering her on. They go to parties and dance and drink and be happy with life. She knows she wants to marry him but isn’t sure if she wants to settle down just yet. One night, he takes her out of the city and they laugh and kiss under the stars, drunk on life. Mylene wakes up later and looks up the name she had then and finds a list of old movies that the actress was in. She watches one with Ivan. It seems vaguely familiar to both of them.

Sometimes Mylene tells Ivan about her dreams and sometimes he tells her that it’s funny, but he had one just like it. When this happens, they both laugh it off, but Mylene still wonders.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I will admit, this doesn't really fit the prompt but that didn't stop me from writing it.


	23. Muse

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ivan writes songs for Mylene

The first song Ivan wrote for Mylene was the first song he wrote period. Putting his feelings into words wasn’t that hard to do, but putting the words to music was. It ended up feeling like a lot of favorite songs, only all squished together. It was also too loud, but she liked the words. (That made him happier than he let on. She liked what  _ he  _ had written.)

The second song he wrote for her was much quieter. He tried not to make it too loud but still keep all of his favorite musical elements in it. It was a lot harder. He didn’t listen to as much quiet music. The second song ended up being a lot like the first song. Mylene didn’t seem to mind though.

He kept writing songs. Most of them were songs about her in one way or another; she was what inspired him. Mylene liked them all.

Ivan had never really thought about writing music before, at least, not seriously. It was something that he’d thought about in an idle way. But when Marinette had suggested he tell Mylene how he felt, that had been the first medium that came to mind. She’d sparked it and Mylene cemented it.

Ivan had picked up the drumset a little here and there, but that didn’t really work well with the sort of music that Mylene liked. Luka was the best guitar player that he knew, so Ivan asked him for lessons. He learned enough to accompany the simple songs he wrote for her.

The more music he wrote, the better he got at it. He wrote songs for  _ Kitty Section _ which were much louder than the other songs he wrote. (They were still written for Mylene, though. Every song he wrote was written for her in one way or another.)

He was always performing for her. Whether or not she realized it, she was always his inspiration and his audience.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I, like Marinette, think's it's cute that Ivan wanted to write Mylene a song, even if it didn't turn out well.


	24. Spring Morning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A spring morning is the perfect time for a new start.

Mylene loved spring mornings. They felt like the epitome of a new start: the sun was rising, the birds were singing, everything was starting to warm up. Today was no different.

It made perfect sense that Hawkmoth’s reign of terror would end on a spring morning; a new start for Paris on all counts. Not that she’d been expecting it; nobody had been expecting it. Mylene had been at a sleepover with the girl squad the previous night (Marinette hadn’t been able to make it, unfortunately). They’d gone to sleep hoping that there wouldn’t be and akuma messing everything up in the night and woke up to find that there would be no akuma messes ever again.

Juleka’s mom was making pancakes and everyone was sitting around drowsily. Alix was the only one even half paying attention to what was on the tv. Suddenly she sat up taller and called everyone over. On-screen, Ladybug and Chat Noir were talking to all of Paris, telling them that Hawkmoth had been defeated and Paris was safe again. The pancakes burned on the griddle, forgotten, as they all watched footage from the fight and Hawkmoth, revealed to be Gabriel Agreste, being led away by the police.

Mayor Bourgeois announced that today would be a city-wide holiday. Businesses were closed and no one had to go to school. No one really wanted to either. 

Alya was trying to get a hold of Marinette and see if she’d heard the news, but Marinette wasn’t picking up. 

Mylene checked her own phone to see that Ivan had texted her.

**Ivan:** _ Did you see the news? _

**Mylene:** _ Yeah _

**Ivan:** _ Excited? _

**Mylene:** _ It doesn’t feel real _

**Ivan:** _ No more akumas _

**Ivan:** _ It’s got to suck for Adrien though _

She’d forgotten about Adrien in all the chaos. Waking to find out your father had been terrorizing Paris for the past few years couldn’t be very fun.

**Mylene:** _ Yeah _

The scent of burning pancakes reminded her that she hadn’t eaten yet this morning. Something that had been lost in the exciting chaos.

**Mylene:** _ Want to meet up for breakfast? _

**Ivan:** _ On my way _

On the ship, Marinette still wasn’t answering her phone, Alix was having a very passionate discussion with Juleka’s mom and Luka, and Juleka and Rose were snogging in the corner. It was sort of mess that perfectly embodied the excitement of Paris.

Mylene slipped up onto the deck. The birds were singing. The sun was shining. There was a slight breeze. It was a new start for Paris and Mylene was going to start it out right.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, the barely interact in this. I was going to have them watching the news together but then I got an idea for a girls night sleepover and it turned into this.


	25. Fall Evening

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ivan and Mylene go on a picnic

It was a crisp fall day when Ivan showed up on Mylene’s doorstep with a picnic basket. It hadn’t been his idea to surprise her with a picnic (It had been his mom’s idea, she was always so much better at that sort of thing than he was), but Ivan had thought it was a great idea.

He let Mr. Haprele know ahead of time that he’d be coming over ahead of time, but he’d wanted to surprise Mylene, and he certainly had judging by the look on her face when she opened the door to find him standing there.

“Want to go on a picnic?” Ivan asked.

“Yes, but I’ve got to let Papa know first.” Mylene was smiling as she faced back inside the house, only to see Mr. Haprele waving her out.

Ivan offered her the arm that wasn’t holding the picnic basket. “Ready?”

She nodded, taking his arm, and they walked down to the closest park together. 

Ivan spread out the picnic blanket he’d brought, weighing it down with some rocks. They ate the sandwiches he’d made and talked about school, and just relaxed in general. Leaves were started to change colors and fall off the trees, swept over the sidewalks by the erratic breeze. It was a beautiful evening.

They were both lying back and staring up at the clouds.

“It’s so peaceful out here,” Mylene said.

Ivan nodded; the sounds of the city were muted over in their corner of the park. He closed his eyes and relaxed. “Yeah.”

They just lay there for a while, silently enjoying the peace.

“Ivan?”

“Huh?” He had been drifting off a little.

“Thanks for the picnic.”

“You’re welcome.” Ivan looked over to see that Mylene was smiling. He was happy. She was happy. It was a perfect evening.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do love a good picnic. In both fiction and real life.


	26. Winter Night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The class gets together to watch Christmas movies.

Mylene’s favorite class tradition (well, this was the second time they’d done it, that was close enough to a tradition) was when they got together and binge-watched cheesy Christmas movies all night. There was nothing like spending time together running away from supervillains to build friendships.

The first time they’d done it, everyone had crowded into Nino’s tiny basement because he had the largest movie collection of anyone and eaten a kilo or so of popcorn and dozens of cookies from the Dupain-Cheng bakery. Even Chloe had shown up at the last minute and hadn’t acted too much like a jerk.

This year, Nino had volunteered to host again (they might have gotten scattered into different classes, and Hawkmoth’s defeat meant they spent a lot less time running away together, but everyone was still friends to some extent), but Chloe had surprised everyone by saying that she would host it. (Mylene had gotten the impression that she had liked it, even if she had made the offer in a way that distinctly implied that she didn’t.)

And so, the entire class plus a few others got together for some Christmas cheer.

Mylene snuggled up to Ivan and felt his chest rise and fall as they watched movies going on about the true meaning of Christmas and Santa and his elves. The room smelled of popcorn and cookies. Outside, stars twinkled in the clear sky.

While not actually paying that much attention to the movie, she watched Adrien and Marinette snuggling without a trace of awkwardness showing on either of them. Alya and Nino were giving them occasional smug looks. Kim, Max, Odine, and Alix were all laughing amongst themselves in a corner, paying attention to something that was most definitely not the movie. Juleka and Rose completely intertwined with each other. Even Chloe was into the spirit of things, actually smiling in a nice way as she whispered with Sabrina.

Mylene pulled Ivan in a little tighter. Everything was perfect. There was a reason that this was her favorite class tradition.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you do something once, it's a nice thing. If you do something twice, it's an unbreakable tradition. I take this from my life experience.


	27. Childhood

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ivan and Mylene go bug hunting as little kids.

As a little boy, Ivan’s favorite thing to do was to catch bugs. His parents saw this and gave him an ant farm for his birthday. After that, Ivan’s favorite thing to do was to catch ants.

Ants were both tiny and numerous. The first quality made them harder to catch and the second made them slightly easier. At first, Ivan’s ant farm sat very emptily on top of his dresser, but after a while, as he started to get the hang of catching tiny little insects, it started to fill up.

One day, on one of his ant-catching expeditions into the park, Ivan went to got hide behind his usual bush only to find that there was already a little girl with a butterfly net crouching there. Ivan looked her up and down, sizing her up. She was short, had blond hair contained in a couple of neat braids, and was wearing a bright and flowery sundress. She was also barefoot. 

“Who are you?” Ivan asked suspiciously.

“Ah!” The little girl jumped. She fumbled around with her butterfly net before sticking out her hand. “My, my name’s Mylene.”

Ivan begrudgingly shook her hand, his large hand completely covering her’s. “My name’s Ivan. What are you doing in my spot?”

Mylene looked flustered. “I d-didn’t see anyone here. I didn’t realize that it was your spot.”

“I always catch ants here.”

“Oh.” Mylene looked sad. “I’ll go somewhere else then.”

She started to wander off dejectedly.

Ivan went back to setting up shop in  _ his _ spot behind the bush, but something kept nagging at him. 

He sighed. “Wait,” he said.

Mylene turned.

“There’s enough room for you,” Ivan muttered. “If you want to.”

Mylene’s face lit up. “Thanks!” She ran over and crouched next to him.

Maybe this wasn’t so bad after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Personally, I headcanon that the first time Ivan and Mylene really met was in Stoneheart, but meeting as little kids is a great way to produce some fluff.


End file.
